Poombarai

The place we decided to travel first after arriving kodaikanal was, Poombarai. It’s a beautiful village, with an hour drive or 18km from kodaikanal on the way to Mannavanur. It turned noon when we were moving around with couple of restaurants to get our lunch parcels to only get a replay of no after making delay, and the places we like to go further have no provision of food, so we just gone with bread and jam to stop some more delay. The route we went take us through pine forest, where woods laid nearer in order by nature or whoever, stands tall in almost wet surface, just makes cool like anything and ever green. The fallen woods that remain after removal from way are tuned to live within nature simply getting to ruin to feed nature and they say these woods are banned to remove from here and this one reason helps nature to bounce within at least.

We had nothing to do with the village Poombarai, but it does everything with its pretty views I have ever seen that make impress with the pattern it provides. Parked beside a curve road that gives a clean sight of the valley, we saw the beautiful village surrounded by different shapes and size of lands that carved like steps on the slope of hills and it was well known as terrace farming. One part of the fields in different soil colors, gives a wonderful pattern and few terraces are traced by ploughed and harvested, with remaining terraces into the progress of developing cabbages, carrots, cauliflowers, potatoes and hill garlic, which is noted here.

Almost with tiles roof, the houses seem even at distinct. The valley that exist other side of the village is wide open to an excellent view of Palani hills where Poombarai situated as its heart, a mountain range in Western Ghats. There’s a wooden view point adjoin to the road side, to climb at our own risk and there’s a small hill top with shrine, where one could enjoy the cool mist and breeze that moves into peace and pleasure looking over the village. At far distance there was a falls flowing like a silver line and as far we move, the view continues along the way; and it was interesting with fresh green vegetation fields. The irrigation was done through a small canal where the spring water collected from nearby areas passes through and wonder how water supplied to the higher terrace when rain fail to visit.

And back in evening, it was another splendid view of mist covering the valley and slowly caresses the village. I wonder how the people would feel being under blanket of mist and just being hidden from the world view for sometime to clear.

The village exists like an untouched beauty as its core attraction, with petal like hills surrounded. It was nice to see them farming even on no flat surface and creating something to progress their lives, and not like those people who sell there well growing lands to more money and turn it to concrete floors in name of development. We come across many farming lands, but this was simple marvel. The village is connected with buses from kodai and it was a remote village with no clear signal of mobiles, and it holds a Murugan temple with history of three thousands years and once a year they celebrate cart festival after Thai Poosam that comes in Jan-feb.

A pet tag

Dear Anya tagged me just for a play. She is someone very sweet to tag me into this game and she has a beautiful cat named Kareltje, and her blog is almost about her pet and none can beat her in receiving awards from friends. Anya had brought her pet Kareltje’s picture on her tag post, so I thought to break the rules so that similarly I can also post our pet maya’s picture.

Thought the rules are to open your photo folder and select the 6th folder, and then select the 6th photo in that folder and post that photo along with the story behind it on your blog and tag 5 people.

The picture above is maya. The time I shoot this picture was about 8pm on a rainy day and u may think what her position stands for?

One thing I haven’t said before was, maya was a superb hunter of ants. Now u may know for what she is waiting near the door. Sometime ants used to enter our home in-between the gap of door and she would wait for them to arrive to catch and eat. One day a leech entered through the gap and maya seen it and started to bark aloud and before she catch we drew her away. From then on, she used to keep her face down near the door, so that she could catch anything that comes. But something opposite to that happened to her recently and what it was a leech had been biting her leg for sometime when we were in kodai and we only saw it later bleeding. Even couple of our family members got sucked by the leeches when we visited a pine forest.

Lodged with princess of hills

The day dawns very early receiving rays of sunlight into my room, and I wake up in aware to see the beautiful princess of hills (kodaikanal) through the open windows, in between the disturbing concrete structures immerge the beauty. First I felt like a prisoner seeing the princess from behind the cages, as the window bars looks like that and it was more enough for someone living within city developers, whom dismissing the beauty as untouchable fruit! The homes and buildings are prisons; we build for ourselves to live with no life, and like released in parole ones or twice a year, we go in search of pleasure that nature gives.

Unlike we keen for shadow on a sunny day, I wished for sunshine morning to make me out of shiver, the cold night gave. I stretched out of home, as I find the place interesting the previews nightfall, I stroll on my wheels around the front yard and it was a simple cottage with roof tiles, and portico with its kind to gossip moments and a swing to move in comfort. It was a lonely cottage to get on our wish, with garden of pears in backyard with sliding lawn and tiny flowers in mini pots. Interestingly there was a Jeep and being a big fan of 4x4 I often get noticed by the vehicle, and it was modified like a hunter jeep and it was the first thing attracts me getting down there.

I could not forget this place so easily, more than for what it was; I had an accident with my wheel, while trying to climb a steep path to fall backward along with wheels. It was a great time that I escaped with unharmed! Everyone was really scared about this incident and special attention had been given to me then and I acknowledged it’s truly my mistake. I was very careful then, the mistake never repeats and disturbs our pleasure. What all I had been enjoying stays for a brief time, as we had decided to shift our cottage in lack of some facilities and in meantime we stoned some pears and took pictures around the cottage, that I don’t want to leave.

Later I felt the move is also for good and better, and it also has some other story to share later. The places we stayed where 2km away from the center of kodai, and the new cottage had a kitchen to cook dish on our wish, and whatever cooked there tastes sweet. On our first day, aunt made ven pongal and every time it comes with a distinct flavor, and the thing is said to be the water provide the hills make the dish very special.

Highways and Clouds

The highways that laid down these days and across in process, is connecting well the main cities and towns are gift to travelers, who loves smooth and quick access to there destinations. We know roads are stretched to development to make easy the transportation and stress free travel, but sometime I think against this progress that why do we need highways to be widen by cutting down all roadside trees and destroying identities that stands for long. Especially on sunny days, traveling on highways is anxious without air condition on, which I hate to be and lack of shadows that can’t make chill sometime on long drives and I really feel what the traveling I was looking for doesn’t gives this highways and its simply bored and dry to travel long distances seems indifferent. On other hand I was happy about the quality of roads that could meet international standard, and those frequent on roads could enjoy the comfort which doesn’t fulfilled me.

Last week I visited kodaikanal and few places around Theni district and as usual it’s more than 12 hours of journey. Keeping in mind the heat waves, we began our journey at 5.30am from Chennai and reached kodaikanal before dusk. Its third time in a decade I’m visiting kodai and quite right on route, and people who can’t agree with me caught up with puzzle, wasted time and fuel traveling in-between Vathalagundu and kodai road before finding dad’s friend wait at kodai road junction. The ghat road leads to kodai was quite flowing, thus everyone wonder how quick we reached top and it was a beautiful day of sky watching across land and hills.

The sky was wide open with clouds floating like cotton candies and displays child art similarly. I always wish to watch clouds that we imagine to draw wherever nature needs and it was such delight to watch in light blue backdrop. As we move on hills, the cotton candy clouds just crashes on the hills as mist and split as cold breeze; and when we head the guest house the place was soaked in drizzle. The sky was still opened to reflect lights in-between clump of clouds even nearly 7pm and we goose bump as our feet sense the coldness of earth. It was a pleasant stable that night and the house was really wonderful, and I will make a post separately on that.

fate and desire

(pic:I wonder where these goats go on fate to rest on human dish or migrate.)

These days life seems so dry and tiresome, unwilling to do anything and wanted to sleep, but no slumber. I’m feeling setback, whether I hide or seek somehow its true and mind says something goes wrong and I can’t be normal, as there was something striking me that I have done a mistake, but I don’t know what it was. Perhaps I had been traveled for a week long and what I had gone through those days could be reflecting on my body and mind that seeks interest to be normal. More than saying I’m trying hard, I struggle everyday to maintain my activities that goes out of touch. One or the few activities obviously indicate me lose of hope and one important thing is walking. I can’t walk miles, but I could put few steps on my own in help of calipers. I could say it’s the only hope that left for sometime now that I’m on my foot. It really bothers me these days, if not physically, it affects my intension.

The sun shines throughout the day immense, which could I blame for the suffering? I wake up lately not less than 9am, and to my wonder I couldn’t sleep more than 6am in cold weather and feel so active, thus I am trying hard to wake early and interestingly that day would be more fine than normal. Hopeless, it comes always whenever I’m imbalance and secondly I couldn’t console myself with fate or do I greet him, because I could be blamed for desire. But it’s a part of my life. I’m also a normal being with mind, to console to live with what I have, thinking myself better than others who face severe disorders and multiple challenges. I think I have a way to go and immense in mind, but I never know or not what yet to happen. I have an outline of my life, when something goes wrong unexpectedly it suffers for long and I always feel, for a day’s drama we should never loss our real life last for long. But I feel of crossing the line in weariness and desire, whether I would happen to fell in the ditch of drama. Mind and body often acts different and what mind says couldn’t followed by the body, and what surprise is unexpected downfall. I escape from the believers who can’t understand the disorder, but nothing can stop me from strive which distress me often. I do care little about my body which is not in my control, but mentally I was occupied by thoughts about my physical.

In short, I was caught up between fate and desire, and obviously fate would win and sometime desire least prevent and advance fate.